TheDailyBeast: Worst Celebrity Excuses

Pete Townshend

Guitar player and chief songwriter for The Who, Pete Townshend is one of the most recognizable figures in rock and roll. But his image took a big hit when he was accused of subscribing to a child pornography website in 1999. Townshend claims he was simply conducting research and in a recent interview with The Times of London which is serializing his memoir, "Who I Am," he said he chose not to fight the charges because he was “exhausted” and he thought the prosecution lawyers would “f*****g rip me apart.”

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From Eddie Murphy picking up a prostitute to Charlie Sheen trashing hotels, it’s no secret that celebrities have a hard time keeping out of trouble. And whether they were just giving the prostitute a ride home or having an allergic reaction to their medication, celebrities rarely have the best excuses.

Guitar player and chief songwriter for The Who, Pete Townshend is one of the most recognizable figures in rock and roll. But his image took a big hit when he was accused of subscribing to a child pornography website in 1999. Townshend claims he was simply conducting research and in a recent interview with The Times of London which is serializing his memoir, "Who I Am," he said he chose not to fight the charges because he was “exhausted” and he thought the prosecution lawyers would “f*****g rip me apart.”

In May 2010 Lindsay Lohan was supposed to be in court for a hearing on a DUI case. However, Lilo was too busy partying in France and she missed her court date. When asked why she couldn’t make it back to L.A. for her hearing, Lohan claimed that he passport has been stolen and she wasn’t able to make it back to the states. Isn’t that convenient?

It’s been a long summer for the former Nickelodeon teen star, Amanda Bynes, who has been involved in two hit-and-run cases and has been accused of driving with a suspended license. But the icing on the cake is a recent incident in which Bynes locked herself in a bathroom at a bakery in SoHo. After about 15 minutes, patrons became concerned and tried to communicate to her through the door, but she did not respond. After 30 minutes Bynes finally emerged from the bathroom claiming she had simply been doing her makeup.

Heiress Paris Hilton has never been a stranger to controversy, but her arrest two years ago was almost beyond belief. Hilton was riding down the Las Vegas strip when her car was pulled over because police officers thought they smelled marijuana. Hilton got out of the car when a white bag containing cocaine fell out of her purse. She defended herself by saying the drugs were not hers and that she thought it was gum.

In 1997 funnyman Eddie Murphy was pulled over late one night in West Hollywood and police officers found something very surprising in his car: a transvestite prostitute. Murphy got off the hook by claiming that he was simply giving the prostitute a ride home. “I was being a good Samaritan. It's not the first hooker I've helped out,” he claims. No charges were filed.

Known for his role as Pee-Wee Herman, Paul Reubens was arrested 1999 in Sarasota, Fla., for allegedly masturbating in an adult movie theater. In an interview with Playboy two years ago he defended his innocence and claims it couldn’t have been him because he was caught using the wrong hand. “In 30 years of research on masturbation the [Masters and Johnson Institute] had never found one person who masturbated with his or her nondominant hand. I'm right-handed, and the police report said I was [using] my left hand.”